


No Lizard, No Life

by galacticyarn



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: College, Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Pets Are Healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 03:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15185264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticyarn/pseuds/galacticyarn
Summary: Seven years later, Zaizen reunites with Kenya.





	No Lizard, No Life

**Author's Note:**

> One of Kenya's Tenirabi myspace lines is "I'm always ready to lend an ear! If you call me, I'll be there as fast as I can." He also protected Zaizen from [vicious eagle attack](http://galacticyarn.tumblr.com/post/175530267457/where-did-this-come-from-how-to-be-a-good)... I welcome Kenya to the Goodeboy family.

Stepping into the humid evening heat, Zaizen left home for a stroll around town. Lately he had fallen into a blogging slump and taken to walking as a way to find new content, or at least keep his mind off the numbers and comments and everything else wrong with his life. In his last year of university, he was slogging through pathetic excuses for classes and half heartedly job hunting. With summer break having just started, Zaizen was hoping to recharge enough to survive until winter break.

He kept to the shadier areas as he plodded along, deciding at the last second which turns to take. Even the upbeat playlist streaming through his earbuds could not push him faster and could not fully distract him from his thoughts. Still he kept going, fighting the growing exhaustion, until he reached what seemed like a good resting spot. On one side there was a little cafe he had never tried, and on the other there was a small natural area with trees and an empty bench calling his name. With a little sigh, he sat, legs out, staring at his shoes.

He had started blogging on a whim in middle school, and kept it up, growing a devoted audience. It was something he enjoyed, all the while everything else around him was boring, disgusting, or stupid. As he got older, his content largely remained the same until recently, when he began to feel like something needed to change. He wasn't getting as many views, the nature of comments had changed, and he was getting a bit tired of the same material. He needed to evolve with the times, but he didn't know how, and this inability to fix the one thing he liked left him stressed. Without blogging, he had no outlet. Without blogging, he was left to suffer school and life alone, because all he did was drive people away. He didn't play tennis anymore, he didn't maintain contact with the people he used to play tennis with, and he had failed to make friends in university. His blog followers were like his friends, and he was losing them too. All he had was the bleak hope that maybe, _maybe_ when he got a job things would change, but what were the chances?

He was too blunt, too honest, too sarcastic, and outright rude. If he wasn't being nasty, he was too quiet and off in his own head, listening to music, seeming stand-offish and scaring away potential acquaintances and friends. He was too smart for his surroundings, and yet changing his surroundings had not helped. He could not connect with his peers, so he spent all his socialization time on social media. None of this had turned into real relationships. He was tired of trying so he gave up, only to feel even worse.

Sighing again, Zaizen got off the bench and shuffled out of the wooded area, turning to make the long walk home. He felt a poke on his shoulder and looked back into the face of his middle school senpai and teammate, whose cautiously hopeful look morphed into a big grin. He said something which did not penetrate the noise cancellation of Zaizen's earbuds, so Zaizen removed one and his senpai repeated: "Hikaru!"

Kenya was taller and less visibly muscled than the last time Zaizen had seen him. His hair was still messy, his aura was still bright and frenetic, but there were a few shadows of unshaved hairs down the sides of his face and and jaw. He was dressed in the same style of hot weather casual garb as he used to wear, but he did not burst into stream of consciousness speech or throw himself onto his junior. Instead he seemed to vibrate as he stood still and said with wonder "It's been years."

Holding the lone earbud, Zaizen replied flatly "Good evening, Kenya-san." A breeze ruffled his unstyled hair as he looked up at the other. At this Kenya's old self seemed to come forth; he bounced on his feet, laughing, and stepped closer. 

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing," Zaizen replied, thinking of the emptiness waiting at home. It was basically the truth.

"Well, do you want to do something? I was going to pick up some bread..." There was a touch of eagerness in his voice, and Zaizen found himself compelled to say yes. They started walking at a leisurely pace, Kenya carefully keeping step with Zaizen, and Kenya started his high speed chatter, asking questions but not pausing for answers.

"I can't believe it's been seven years. How did we even keep out of contact when technology makes everything so easy now? I always thought you and your brain would go places. Did you? I couldn't hack the pre-med track even with Yuushi to help me, but that might be because we ended up fighting all the time anyway, but I did manage to study nursing and get my license and I've been enjoying it. I still live at home so this is a bit out of the way--" Finally he stopped. "I'm assuming you still live in this direction and don't have to catch a train or anything?"

"It's fine," Zaizen said, winding up his earbuds and placing them in one pocket and his phone in the other. "Really, anything is fine by me." Kenya was briefly silent as he looked at his former doubles partner, who was almost as short and quiet of voice as he had been at Shitenhouji.

"You--" he paused, a little confused, "you're a lot more agreeable than you used to be."

"Kenya-san, you've changed too. We're adults now." He wasn't in the mood to get into it, and Kenya, sensing this, didn't pry. They continued on, Kenya babbling about his life, until they reached the bakery and stepped into the blissfully cool air. Zaizen plopped into a chair while Kenya went toward the display cases. Rather than dig out his phone, Zaizen chose to watch his old teammate as he picked out a mountain of bread, chatted with the employee, paid, and bounced back to the table. Ripping into the box, Kenya took out a bun and proffered it.

"It's mochi bread. I think you'll like it."

"Thanks." 

Kenya dragged out another chair, sat, and scooted noisily inward. He rested his arms on the table and looked curiously on as Zaizen self-consciously nibbled on the bread. It wasn't like Kenya to be quiet and contemplative, he thought, but then again, that was middle school. He wasn't like himself either, being borderline polite and "agreeable" and having avoided making even one snide remark-- but when was the last time he talked to anyone but his parents, professors, or TAs, anyway? He couldn't summon the energy to comment on overheard conversations between classmates, he didn't have any material for funny blog posts, and so his sharp tongue must have dulled, or he wouldn't be so docile.

"You're making a face." His thoughts stopped their spiral. "Were you thinking something or was the filling not so good? You can have another one, maybe the red bean would be better." Zaizen was surprised by the insight, this new ability to read people. "The bread is fine. I was just thinking." 

"You do a lot of that." From Zaizen that would have been a sarcastic comment on someone's lack of intelligence but Kenya was smiling and nostalgic. "Is something going on?" Zaizen wasn't sure how much he could open up to someone who was almost a stranger, so he calculated his options and answered: "My blog is dying and I want to fix it."

Wide eyed, Kenya said "Oh, you're still blogging? I don't think you ever shared it with me. I don't know what kind of content you normally post but--" he brightened with his own sense of a good idea-- "have you ever thought about doing a series on iguanas?" Zaizen only raised his brows. "I'm serious! You could talk about common pets, rare pets, black markets...! Besides, you never spent much time with Speedy anyway. It might be fun."

"Speedy?"

"Speedy! My iguana!" 

Was this an invitation? Twiddling his fingers, Zaizen said nothing.

"We need to exchange contact info. Bring me an old sock or something soon, and then you can come over a while after."

"Old sock?" Zaizen grimaced. Where was this going?

"For your scent! It's better for him to get used to your scent first so that when you meet, he's not as scared."

Wordlessly, Zaizen took out his phone and sent a message to the number Kenya dictated. "Got it!" Kenya grinned and sent back a hideous sticker of Godzilla wearing sunglasses. "I work pretty early, so I should get going soon. Are you going home too?" Zaizen grunted noncommittedly as Kenya scooped up his glutinous purchases. "Don't forget about the sock! Or whatever it is! I'm always free on weekends and evenings, which I'm guessing you are too...?"

"Yeah."

"Great! Meet me again with the sock. The sooner you bring it, the sooner we can start hanging out with Speedy, and you'll have new blog content!"

_'We_ can _hang out?'_ Zaizen wondered as he waved his senpai goodbye.

\---

Zaizen wound up completing every random task he could think of before finally grabbing a hole-ridden band tee which had absorbed its fair share of sweat and odor. He thought it would look rather odd to just hand over a lump of fabric, so he combed through the family storage for a shopping bag. Stuffing the shirt in the bag, he began to wonder if he should make an offering, even if he wasn't actually going to Kenya's place until later. Maybe something for Speedy would be suitable. In all his avoidance of the task at hand, Zaizen had not gotten around to researching iguanas or reptiles or anything relevant, so he forced himself to sit at his desk in the sweet air conditioning and trawl through the Internet.

The next time he checked, he had spent an hour and a half watching iguana videos. 

It was late enough in the evening that he wouldn't melt in the heat, so he grabbed his wallet, stuck his earbuds in his ears, and headed out to the grocers'. Browsing through the fresh produce, he settled on a summer squash-- he didn't want Speedy to consume too much sugar, and he didn't want to get basic leafy greens. The amount would fit in the shopping bag without bulging or weighing too much, and it was inexpensive. 

Walking home, Zaizen thought his heart was beating a little too fast.

\---

After Zaizen gave Kenya the bag, he did everything possible to avoid reminding himself of their upcoming plans. He cleaned, rewatched old concert recordings, got a mountain of books from the library, and holed up at home for a week until the message arrived: "I think it's okay for you to meet Speedy now! Do you have plans tomorrow around 4?"

"Do I ever have plans?" Zaizen muttered to himself as he tapped out a reply. Summer break wasn't even that long, and he had barely done anything. He couldn't shake the nervous feeling as he sat, concert video still playing, staring at his phone and waiting for it to light up with Kenya's okay.

\---

The walk to Kenya's house was horrendously hot, and Zaizen collapsed in relief at the table in Kenya's lightly air conditioned room. The bed and the table were as he thought he remembered but the iguana cage was enormous, and the beast himself was well over a meter whereas seven years ago he had been approximately as long as his owner's arm. Zaizen sipped cold barley tea as Kenya opened the cage and reached into the plants and branches to pick up his pet.

"Say hi to Speedy," Kenya smiled, gently placing the reptile onto the floor and kneeling in case he needed to react quickly. Speedy did not move, but his eyes did, and Zaizen recalled that this was good while staring fixedly was a sign of potential attack. 

"He got bigger," Zaizen remarked, taking his phone out of his pocket as he gazed at scaly creature, who had gone from a brilliant green not unlike that of Shitenhouji to a softer olive color. The deep green striations were still there, and his body was not only longer but thicker than when his owner had been in middle school. The clawed toes were as lengthy and fearsome looking as ever, even if they had supposedly evolved to climb trees.

"He's five times as big as when I first got him! His spikes and his jowls weren't really there, he was like a really thin snake with legs, but I made sure to feed him properly and get the correct lighting for his cage and make the cage bigger when necessary. A lot of people don't realize how big iguanas, especially male green iguanas, can get, plus you can buy them for pretty cheap when they're young, so it can be pretty sad and I didn't want that to happen." Kenya paused his rapid rambling to look at his former teammate, whose expression was inscrutable as he looked at his phone.

Speedy began to crawl forward, body low to the floor, and Kenya shuffled after his pet. Zaizen finally looked up at the sound, warily eyeing Speedy as he neared and stopped, head and strong jaws a little too close. Zaizen had watched iguanas strike plush toys out of nowhere and fling them about violently, and he had read about what iguana bites could do to people, and how they could occur without any warning signs like walking with the body high off the ground. He could feel a bit of sweat as his hand gripped his phone, and Kenya was quiet, observing his pet for any signs of aggression.

Finally Speedy continued his crawl, and the humans relaxed. Kenya asked if Zaizen had decided upon the blog content yet, and Zaizen said no, he needed more time. Kenya beamed and said that he was welcome to take his time and visit as often as he liked, and Zaizen could not look his senpai in the eyes.

\---

Zaizen didn't know what to make of his visit, so he ignored the screaming anxiety and promptly messaged Kenya about visiting again. When the day came he brought half a watermelon, which Kenya quickly sliced and cubed, some for them and some for Speedy's next meal. After being released from his cage, Speedy lay still in a sunny patch near the window.

"So," Kenya began, stabbing a chunk of watermelon with his toothpick, "how's life?"

The old deadpan revived itself for one witty remark, but Kenya only smiled gently and repeated, "Really. How _is_ life?"

Was it obvious? Zaizen thought he did alright hiding his emotions. Leave it to his former doubles partner to figure him out. They couldn't have made it to nationals without some amount of understanding, after all. Staring intently at the wood grain of the table, he said nothing.

"It's cool. You don't have to talk." Kenya popped the watermelon into his mouth. "I told you I'm a nurse, right? I just-- I see things at work. Unfortunately, there usually isn't somebody trained to deal with it. All I have is some informal knowledge, but..." Kenya let his offer hang silently in the air and Zaizen sat, tight-lipped.

\---

Two trips to see Speedy still hadn't given Zaizen the blogging epiphany he desperately wanted. Rather, Kenya had pried and exposed Zaizen to himself, all the while Zaizen wondered if they could become friends over the course of summer and thought with bitterness that it would end as soon as school started. Given the other's amazement at their reunion and willingness to help, Zaizen knew that he had a rare opportunity, yet all he could think was 'why bother? He probably thinks my existence is a bother.'

Zaizen spent a few days stewing in his room, typing out notes and ideas that didn't excite him, lying prone with his favorite bands playing through the mini speaker over and over, trying to read his library books but unable to remember a single sentence. He was half-asleep when his phone lit up. Kenya had sent a sticker of a rueful looking Godzilla holding a daisy, followed by a message: "Are you visiting again?" 

"Yes."

\---

On the third visit, Speedy climbed into Kenya's lap and onto the table, and Zaizen hesitantly stroked one finger along the iguana's snout, hoping that he wouldn't get bitten. Kenya had said it would be fine, but reptiles were not domesticated animals, and Zaizen was still a bit nervous. Speedy began to blink slower and slower as Zaizen continued petting him until he closed his eyes.

"See," Kenya said quietly, "he trusts you. He likes you."

Zaizen wondered if Speedy's owner felt the same.

\---

By the fourth visit, summer break was half over and Zaizen felt a continuous unease. He didn't want to go back to boring classes and obnoxious classmates, and he didn't want these visits, nerve-wracking as they were, to end. Kenya never mentioned his offer again, although he did chatter endlessly about work problems and general life. Zaizen never discussed school or home life or relationships or really anything beyond his blog, when he spoke at all. He didn't interrupt Kenya's speech with scathing retorts. Instead he let the words flow over him, the sound of a real live human in the same room serving as a comfort rather than an irritant. Instead of sighing and thinking 'what an idiot,' Zaizen listened. He learned all about this new Kenya, and what it was like being a nurse, and how to properly care for a green iguana.

Zaizen let all the information percolate his mind afterward, with the hope that it would brew into a good blog idea.

For the fifth visit, Kenya had insisted on a weekend morning so that Zaizen could witness a meal. From the videos he'd seen, Zaizen didn't think it would be anything special, but he humored his senpai. He wanted to prevent disappointing his potential friend.

Zaizen sat in his usual spot as Kenya dashed off to the kitchen to chop and plate some fresh vegetables. Kenya sprinkled some nutritional powder on the food and placed it on a ledge inside the cage. Speedy had been relaxing on a branch below the ledge, and upon sensing the movement, climbed up to inspect. Noticing his meal, the lizard began to eat. Zaizen thought eating lizards looked rather silly with their jerking motions, especially in the case of food that was too big for their mouths, and watching one in person, his opinion did not change.

Due to getting up uncommonly early, Zaizen hadn't eaten breakfast and his stomach growled. 

"Oh!" Kenya whipped around, leaving the cage door open. "Why don't we go out to eat? It's on me."

Zaizen opened his mouth and shut it, hesitating. 

"Change of scenery?" Kenya smiled tentatively.

"If you insist."

"Of course I do!" Kenya shut the cage, grabbed his wallet, and they were out the door. Zaizen couldn't help noticing how his boisterous senpai always restrained himself and kept pace with Zaizen's sluggish plod, without complaining or joking like others had. Who decided that speed was for youth and moving slowly turned you into an old fart anyway?

"How about that cafe where I met you?"

"I've never tried it."

"Great!" Zaizen sighed, and Kenya furrowed his brows. "What's wrong?"

"It's just a long walk."

"We could go somewhere else. There's actually a place--"

"No," Zaizen interrupted faintly. "It's fine." It wasn't fine, but Kenya did not fight it, and the two walked in silence that was only a bit awkward until reaching the cafe. They settled at a table and Kenya commented on every menu item he had ever tried until they placed their orders.

"Are you making any progress on your blog?"

"Slowly." 

"When does your summer break end?"

"Too soon." Zaizen fought the urge to remove his phone from his pocket and check everything.

"Ah, school." Kenya was wistful, bordering thoughtful, which alarmed Zaizen. What matter would spew out of his senpai's mouth this time?

"A year ago I hadn't even started studying for my nursing exam. How are things for you?" Zaizen sighed and Kenya only smiled, seamlessly changing the topic to the less fraught one of other peoples' pets and blabbering on until their food arrived and he began stuffing his face.

Zaizen slowly made his way through the Strawberry Pancake Party, half listening to the noise of the cafe and half listening to his own train of thought as it chugged its way through the events of his entire summer break. He still had one-third left when he felt like he was being watched, and glanced up to see that Kenya was indeed watching him, like he was patiently observing a lizard. But Zaizen wasn't about to run off or bite or even make a nasty comment. He continued eating.

"Just a reminder that I'm always ready to lend an ear."

"Right," Zaizen mumbled.

"If you call me, I'll be there as fast as I can!"

"'No speed, no life'?" Zaizen found a crumb of his old sarcasm.

Kenya's laugh was bright. "Me and Speedy too. Speaking of, I bet he'll miss you." At this phrase Zaizen's mind blanked. "It really is good for him to have some extra stimulation so he doesn't get bored and sick. Anyway, I'll miss you. I hope you'll keep visiting."

Zaizen's mouth felt paper-dry as he responded, "Wasn't this just for my blog?"

"Silly. We're friends, right?"

Zaizen held his fork in a death grip as he stabbed the last strawberry, avoiding Kenya's gaze. He decided to open up.

"What if I took a hiatus from my blog?"

Kenya made a contemplative noise. "Well, it's not like it's your actual job, so why not? If it's feeling like a job, take a vacation from it. It's important to take breaks so you don't burn out; I saw plenty of people push too hard at school and ultimately fall apart." Tactfully, Kenya did not question why Zaizen was thinking of taking a break after all these years or if the "slow" progress was actually none at all.

Zaizen sipped his tea, which had gone lukewarm, and pondered what to say. Kenya may have told him explicitly to continue visiting, but there was still a cynic in Zaizen's mind saying that it was merely a nicety and he shouldn't take it literally. He kept one hand around the cup and the other on the table, unconsciously fisted in nervousness. A few moments passed and Kenya inquired, "Do you want to take a hiatus?"

"Yeah." 

"Will you still visit next week?"

Zaizen inhaled. "Yes."

\---

Once again, when let out of his cage Speedy chose to relax in a sunny spot below the window. Zaizen had moved from his usual seat at the table to lean against the wall near Speedy out of the sun. Kenya was tidying the cage, and the three occupied the room in comfortable silence. Iguanas didn't have vocal cords to begin with, but Zaizen was certain that if Speedy was unhappy, they would know about it. The green beast wasn't as mean as the claws and spikes would suggest, if only because he had been handled properly and "tamed", as much as a reptile could be tamed, by a loving owner.

"Loving" was the right word. Kenya cared for the sick and scared as an outstanding nurse, tended to a weird pet despite the difficulties, and had sweetly extended some kindness to an old teammate in a time of great need. He had offered his friendship to someone friendless, without expecting anything in return.

Zaizen trailed a finger along Speedy's back and thought 'Thanks.'


End file.
